Irrational Games

As the Kickstarter campaign for Perception celebrates hitting $100K, the development team behind the upcoming horror game has released a new "found footage" trailer video.
The video -- which will feel familiar in a Blai...

Deep End Games -- a new studio consisting of many ex-Irrational developers -- has announced a Kickstarter campaign for a brand new horror game called Perception.
The first-person horror adventure places you in the shoes ...

Steven told us about The Black Glove, a surreal first-person game from former Irrational (BioShock) developers, a couple of times. That was several months ago. The Kickstarter didn't make it. Determined, the team at Day for N...

March is already half over (have you filed your taxes yet?), which means more free Xbox games.
With an active Xbox Live Gold membership, you can now download BioShock Infinite for free on Xbox 360. Love it or hate it, there's...

After BioShock Infinite, developer Irrational effectively closed down. About 70 folks lost their jobs while studio head Ken Levine formed a smaller team focused on highly-replayable narrative-driven games. Rece...

In February, Ken Levine (bio)shocked the gaming world by announcing that Irrational Games was shutting down. Well, sort of. The plan was to lay off the majority of the staff, and continue forward as a small group dedicated to...

Look, it's an Ace Ventura reference is what I'm doing, okay? It makes sense. Don't hassle me. As much sense as every other "[game] [verbs] [onto]" headline. "Cagney and Lacey Golf tees off on Wii"? Step the heck off.
...

The Black Glove. Huh, I'm into this weird thing. It's obviously reminiscent of BioShock, but the whole manipulating artists to change things sort of brings to mind this year's Ether One. Could turn out neat. Good job so...

An installment in the BioShock series for the PlayStation Vita may be one of Ken Levine's only wishes for the franchise that will go unfulfilled. Levine's longing for one of his signature games on the handheld device is ...

It's been about four months since we first got the news that Irrational Games would be shutting down, and as some expected, some former staff have regrouped in a new studio called Day for Night Games. The studio boasts some b...

The original BioShock ran on (a heavily modified version of) Unreal Engine. That was almost seven years ago. What would the game look like running on the newest iteration, Unreal Engine 4? Someone had that same thought and p...

Mar 25 //
Chris Carter
BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode Two (PC [reviewed], PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)Developer: Irrational GamesPublisher: 2K GamesReleased: March 25, 2013MSRP: $14.99 (included in Season Pass)
After a fantastic opening that links the worlds of BioShock and Infinite, this episode of Burial at Sea picks up right after the prior DLC, but this time we're in control of Elizabeth. Elizabeth will find herself drawn into both the world of Rapture and Columbia, as she interacts with a variety of characters from both franchise worlds. She'll have to do this by way of stealth, and without the use of her magical "tearing" ability (which is explained by way of the narrative). Just in case you need a quick refresher, a "Previously on BioShock" video is very helpful for those of you who forgot the gist of the first game.
Simply put, the transition into Elizabeth not only works on a macro level, but the stealth ploy is actually fun, as well as unique. Instead of the same old "shoot everything" strategy typically employed by Jack and Booker before her, Elizabeth must instead rely on tools like sleeping darts and stealth knockouts to stand a chance. Irrational really took a chance with the switch to a lower-key approach, and it paid off. In a nutshell, Elizabeth's style is Thief-like, which is a good franchise to draw inspiration from.
This dedication to stealth is seen through nearly every facet of her gameplay. When slinking around carpeted floors muffle her steps, and objects like broken glass or puddles can give her away. Through the use of a brand new Plasmid called the Peeping Tom, she can also see through walls and momentarily cloak herself, adding a new dimension to your approach should you wish to use it. I had a lot of fun coming up with new ways to utilize Elizabeth's style, and it felt like I was playing something utterly different -- which is an accomplishment for a DLC episode, in my mind.
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Although she might have less health than Booker she is still very much a formidable hero with a variety of weapons at her disposal like Noisemaker Darts to distract sentries, and gas darts to put multiple foes to sleep -- plus, she still has a few standard guns like the handcannon and shotgun. Her only real weakness is the inability to take out enemies with melee attacks if she's seen, but a quick cloak or a few moments of going into hiding will fix that.
In addition to the uniquely improved gameplay, you'll also get a lot more big-picture story in Burial at Sea Episode Two. I'm talking tidbits fans really want to see, like more info on Big Daddies, Little Sisters, and a lot of the big personalities in the Bioshock universe. You'll also see a few appearances from the Lutece Twins, and characters you didn't necessarily get to hang out with in person in past games. If you were disappointed by the lack of new revelations presented in Episode One, you'll get them here.
Although the length of a game doesn't typically bother me, the fact of the matter is you're getting more bang for your buck with Episode Two, as the core story will last you around five hours. The environments as a whole are also much larger than Episode One, so it's really easy to get lost as you look for secrets and experiment with Elizabeth's newfound tactics.
Irrational also went above and beyond with the implementation of 1998 Mode -- a new difficulty level that challenges you to complete the entire DLC without killing a soul. I never thought the core game's 1999 setting really added anything significant as it was basically the exact same experience, but with even more emphasis on stealth, playing 1998 felt like a whole new game. It was so fun in fact that I was compelled to go back for a second playthrough of Episode Two immediately -- a feeling I didn't experience with the first DLC.BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode Two blows Episode One out of the water. It improves upon nearly every shortcoming of the first outing, and with all of the lore additions it's a must-play for fans of the series. It's worth picking up the Season Pass just to see this story through to the end.

Irrational's swan songBioShock Infinite had an interesting run, with player reception all over the board. Some loved it, some hated it, others reveled in its celebration of violence, some disapproved. It's probably going to be a long time bef...

Here's a thing you can buy if you have too much money on your hands and don't want to give it to those in need: this limited run Noir Elizabeth BioShock Infinite statue is available for pre-order.
It's $250, but only 400 were...

In this reflective look back at the soon-to-be released final DLC for BioShock Infinite, members of the team at Irrational Games talk about the elements of the experience they are most individually proud of. There are also l...

One of the biggest and most widely-held criticisms of BioShock Infinite had to do with all the violence. Many thought that it did a disservice to the narrative by being too over-the-top. Irrational aims to make amends of...

DTOID News is wearing a dumb scarf
Hey everybody, I’m back from Japan! And here’s your quasi-timely news update for the first two thirds of this week. Irrational Games closed, pre-ordering Wolfenstein: The New Order gets you a beta for the new and...

In the wake of the unfortunate news of Irrational Games shutting down, many of the studio's staff are bound to be left unemployed. While many will surely go on to work for other companies, some will likely take a shot at begi...

Levine forming smaller team focused on highly-replayable narrative-driven games"I am winding down Irrational Games as you know it," wrote co-founder Ken Levine in a post that comes as an utter shock. "I'll be starting a smaller, more entrepreneurial endeavor at Take-Two. That is going to mean ...

It's not often that I post a video and recommend that nobody actually watch it, but here we are. Just like the preview clip from two weeks ago, this Burial at Sea: Episode Two behind-the-scenes video is full of spoilers...

Who doesn't love a shiny new hat, or two, to wear during their Team Fortress 2 shenanigans? Well if you've been looking to spruce up the old noggin with a little BioShock love, then Irrational Games has a treat for you.....

So, I have about a million things that I want to say about this BioShock Infinite Burial at Sea: Episode Two trailer, but can't for running the risk of spoiling it for those that want the purest experience possible. If ...

Satire: the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
It's not every day when an ultra-c...

Nov 11 //
Chris Carter
BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode One (PC [reviewed], PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)Developer: Irrational GamesPublisher: 2K GamesReleased: November 12, 2013MSRP: $14.99 (included in Season Pass)
The setup is as simple as it gets -- in a seemingly alternate universe, another version of Elizabeth comes to the office of Booker Dewitt asking him to find a child named Sally. After "pressing X to light cigarette," bada bing bada boom, you'll jump into Rapture rather quickly -- as in, less than a minute or so, as it's literally right outside your door. At first, Burial's rendition of the classic underwater dystopia feels like a different Rapture. This time around, it feels like an actual community, rather than a series of desecrated halls with Disney robots spouting classist social commentary.
But that feeling is fleeting, sadly. There is no "God Only Knows" moment of clarity like in Infinite. You simply get to see a brief glimpse of Rapture with regular people in it, doing regular things, augmented by predictable discussions like "What if the Big Daddies rebelled?" and other half-hearted fanservice teases. The facade quickly devolves even further after the first quest (a series of errands), and you embark upon the real bulk of the game -- the messed up part of Rapture we all know so well on the eve of its collapse.
At first, you may feel excited at the prospect of returning to these hallowed halls, eager to see how all of your old favorites are doing. But you'd be extremely disappointed once you dive in, as there is very little here to placate you outside of the mere existence of Rapture in the DLC. Burial at Sea is content with namedropping characters from BioShock, but not actually providing anything substantial outside of a five-minute conversation with Sander Cohen, followed by more namedropping.
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It knows its audience, and it's very much fanservice from an environmental perspective, since much of the selling point is the mere return to Rapture. Not much happens as you're spelunking through it, however, because you're basically just fighting splicers (again) until you reach the poignant conclusion. Eventually, Burial lets you know that it is intertwined with the main story (you should complete Infinite first to fully understand the end of the DLC), but it isn't until this brief moment that anything important actually happens.
What is neat about Burial is the juxtaposition of Booker knowing intimate details about Rapture while Elizabeth pretends to know nothing. There's one part specifically where she explains her wormhole power as a "new Plasmid," and you can almost feel the shiftiness of her eyes in her voice. I would have loved more exploration of these themes, but there's one major problem: this Elizabeth just isn't compelling enough. Period. Don't be fooled by the "noir" setup in the intro -- that theme is not carried into the DLC proper.
Burial's version of Elizabeth is less endearing, less interesting, and gives you no real reason to care about her place in the narrative. She'll still throw you health, EVE, and ammo just like Infinite, but now more than ever she feels like a delivery system rather than her own entity. With Infinite, I was always left guessing at how Elizabeth would react to a certain situation, and I'd feel like I was in the same moment right alongside of her -- sharing those experiences. But in Burial, she conversely feels predictable and soulless, adding nothing more to the plot than fundamental intrigue and a new outfit.
Gameplay-wise I think Burial is a step in the right direction for a potential Bioshock 4, as it feels like a slightly refined Infinite. The weapon wheel returns (thank goodness), allowing you to switch between any given tool in your arsenal at any time, rather than pointlessly limiting you to two tools. The Skyhook is also back in the exact same capacity, but this time it's called an "Air Grabber," as to fit into the Rapture-centric lore. A new weapon called the Radar Range is extremely fun to use, and functions like a high-powered microwave laser gun, adding a bit of silliness to the proceedings.
The design is tweaked as well in Burial, with a mostly positive outcome. In the original BioShock combat felt unique, in the sense that one Big Daddy could be the difference between life and death. But with Infinite, forced wave-based arena combat sections often made a mockery of the original's design, seemingly doing nothing more than padding the game for the sake of it.
In that sense Burial feels like a solid compromise, because while combat isn't quite as nuanced as the original, it definitely feels less forced than it was in Infinite, and strikes a good balance that should placate the majority of fans. Elizabeth's tearing power can still be used to summon objects like samurais (yeah, you heard me), robot patriots, gun stashes, and medical supplies just like Infinite, which helps add another tactical layer to combat on top of those refinements.
Don't expect a whole lot of playtime without the second piece of the package, as Episode One's narrative will last you a solid hour or so (which isn't a problem for me, but a fair warning), and you can tack on another hour or two (at maximum) if you want to explore everything. While I don't want to spoil it for you, Burial leaves off on a massive cliffhanger at the very end, which is pretty much the only point where it feels relevant.
I wasn't too impressed by Burial at Sea Episode One, mostly because it just doesn't add a whole lot to the overall franchise outside of the last 30 seconds, and it's simply not compelling enough. While it's quite possible that Episode Two will tie everything together in a neat bow and blow us all away, Irrational Games has yet to make a legitimate case for a return to Rapture.

A conflicted return to RaptureBioShock Infinite was one of the most polarizing releases in recent memory among the gaming community. While a number of critics lauded it as an apex for Irrational, many fans were left feeling underwhelmed by certain facets ...

Ken Levine, one of the most well-known and respected developers in the videogame industry, will be honored at this year's Golden Joystick Awards with a Lifetime Achievement award. Throughout the course of the show's 31-year h...

Spoilers, obviously
BioShock Infinite's Burial At Sea Episode 1 is on the way, and you can get a quick look at the first five minutes courtesy of Irrational Games above. Although there are obvious spoilers as to the setup of the DLC, not a whol...

Oct 04 //
Caitlin CookeIn Burial at Sea: Episode 1, Elizabeth seemed a little bit jaded, if not completely cold, in comparison to her personality in BioShock Infinite. I asked Ken to elaborate on what's happening with her character, and he explained, "In [Burial at Sea: Episode 2], there will be even more changes and each experience. It's really about taking Elizabeth from the woman you met in the tower [in Infinite], this naive person, to the person at the end of Infinite who's gone through some terrible things, [then] to this femme fatal, opaque, cold and then going inside and seeing what caused all of that."
"When you get to the end of this, where does that leave her and what does this experience do to her? We basically want to show you the world from her perspective [...] that's a journey that you can complete only when you step into her shoes."
After learning about the "lighthouses" from BioShock Infinite, it can be confusing to understand where Burial at Sea falls in the timeline and how it fits into Elizabeth's world. Ken Levine clarified that "This is 'Elizabeth prime,' this is the Elizabeth that went through the experiences in BioShock Infinite and this is the Rapture from BioShock. We're not splintering that."
Elizabeth's combat style in Burial at Sea: Episode 2 hasn't been announced yet, but the gameplay will be more of the survival-horror variety. Ken elaborates on the gameplay that "It's probably even more resource management intensive and stealth oriented. Elizabeth is a different person, she's not a "guns blazing" person.
"Without going into too much detail, it's the world through her eyes. Each game (BioShock Infinite, Burial at Sea: Episode 1) are bespoke experiences, we're working on game experience stuff that varies from each of them."
Perhaps we will be getting a completely different gameplay mechanic when we step into Elizabeth's shoes. There is no official release date for Burial at Sea: Episode 2, but I imagine we'll have our answers when it's most likely released sometime next year.

A cold, jaded ladyWarning: Minor plot/theme spoilers
BioShock Infinite - Burial at Sea: Episode 1 ends on an interesting note to say the least, and I'm curious to see what is in store for the next episode.
When it was announced, Burial a...

Oct 04 //
Caitlin Cooke[embed]258998:49773:0[/embed]
BioShock Infinite - Burial at Sea: Episode 1 (PC [previewed], PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)Developer: Irrational GamesPublisher: 2K GamesRelease: Holiday 2013
Elizabeth informs you that she knows a crazy artist named Cohen (sound familiar?) who may know the whereabouts of Sally. After viewing the new areas Rapture has to offer, your first objective is to procure a rabbit mask that will grant entry into Cohen's secret party. This task introduces a new aspect of gameplay where Elizabeth distracts shopkeepers as you wait for the right timing to sneak into the back areas. I found it highly enjoyable and tense (in a good way), but also very brief as this particular mechanic doesn't show up again in the DLC.
Once you steal this mask, you enter Cohen's crazy little party. From there, those of you who have played the original BioShock can assume things get dark and twisted very fast.
Note: This is the last of the story I'll reveal.
The combat mechanics in Burial at Sea, including Plasmids, are very much the same as in prior BioShock installments. However, this time around resource management is much more prevalent than it was in Infinite. On medium difficulty I found myself often running out of bullets and Eve, thus having to conserve my resources to ensure I could make it through to the next area. This was intentional from a gameplay perspective, and I actually found myself getting more out of the combat situations versus the rushed combat mentality of BioShock Infinite.
Enemies are different this time around as well. They were much less likely to rush at me, and often times I could observe them milling about before they were even alerted to my presence. This gave me time to plan my attacks in advance, making it easier to strategically place Plasmid traps and route enemies. Despite the lack of resources I ended up feeling more accomplished at the end of my battles, which is something I didn't really feel in Infinite despite the numerous and often large amount of enemies.
The setting in Burial at Sea is gorgeous and colorful -- all assets have been redone, breathing in new life to Rapture. Bars, shops, art galleries, and even slot machines adorn the main area. One of the settings, a derelict department store, is an interesting space in its own right. Clothing, electronics, toys and various other relics from Rapture in the 1950s are scattered about in a creepy yet eye-catching way.
The pacing and overall design felt much more open than Infinite as well. So much more open in fact that at one point I had accidentally skipped two parts of a quest because I bypassed it. Enemies had cropped up in the meantime making it harder every time I made a mistake in my path selection.
Hidden areas are still prevalent in Burial at Sea, with Elizabeth always at the ready to help pick locks. Audio diaries are scattered about, providing extra context to what's happening in Rapture at the time and also some interesting tidbits regarding a certain "phenomena" occurring. I highly recommend not skipping these!
I fully completed this DLC and truly enjoyed it. In fact, I loved it so much that it makes me wonder why it's not a standalone game. I felt like it blended the best parts of both BioShock and BioShock Infinite; the combat was challenging and thoughtful, the story was captivating, and the pacing was perfect. Infinite was a fantastic game in its own right, but bringing Booker and Elizabeth to Rapture is literally a whole new world.
Burial at Sea: Episode 1 does not have a specific release date, but they do anticipate it coming out before the holidays. We'll do a full proper review closer to release. In the meantime, enjoy this ominous "Fact from Myth" video which foreshadows what may have happened after Elizabeth and Booker meet in Rapture ...
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All assets have been redone, breathing in new life to RaptureWarning: minor plot spoilers
I swore hand over heart that I would not spoil the resolution of Burial at Sea, so that will remain a mystery until the rest of you fine citizens get to enjoy it before the holidays. However, to g...

Former Gears of War producer Rod Fergusson left Irrational Games earlier this year after joining the team during the tail-end of development on BioShock Infinite. The fact that he moved on is no secret, but he has only today ...

The intriguing BioShock Infinite DLC Burial at Sea features a return to BioShock 1's Rapture, prior to its downfall. Also, it's film noir as heck. Chinatown with splicers. I'm all about this; I'm always ringing the "more noir...

We recently got word that the next DLC for Bioshock Infinite would be the two-part Burial at Sea, which brings Booker and Elizabeth to Rapture on the eve of its downfall. Also, it's film noir as heck. Chinatown with splicers....